Oil Rises to $80 a Barrel in London for First Time Since 2014

Oil rose to $80 a barrel in London for the first time since 2014 as U.S. crude inventories fell and traders braced for the impact of renewed sanctions on OPEC member Iran.

Crude has rallied this month on concern that President Donald Trump’s decision to quit an international accord with Iran and reimpose sanctions will strain global supplies just as markets are already tightening. The glut that had weighed on prices for the past three years has finally been eliminated, thanks to strong demand and output cuts by other producers in OPEC, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Brent for July settlement rose as much as 90 cents to $80.18 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest since November 2014, and was at $79.90 as of 1:39 p.m. local time. The global benchmark crude traded at a $7.75 premium to West Texas Intermediate for delivery the same month.

WTI’s June contract traded at $72.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 58 cents, after climbing 18 cents on Wednesday. Total volume traded was 28 percent above the 100-day average.